a former FBI agent There was “an obvious mental illness component” that prompted would-be killer Ryan Routh to take aim at former President Donald Trump on Sept. 15, Fox News Digital was told.
before he was charged with two Gun-related crimes In a Florida court on Monday, Routh, 58, said he had more than 100 interactions with police between the 1980s and 2010.
His prior charges range from writing bad checks to possessing a firearm as a felon, possessing a stolen vehicle and, in 2002, multiple counts of possessing a weapon of mass destruction — specifically, “a binary explosive with a 10-inch blast cord and blasting cap.”
Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Scott Duffy told Fox News Digital that Routh’s frequent confrontations with police, and his social media persona, indicate that “he’s constantly trying to upset somebody and see what their reaction will be.”
Watch on Fox Nation: Donald Trump assassination attempt
Ryan W. Routh, suspected of trying to assassinate Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course, is handcuffed after his arrest during a traffic stop near Palm City, Florida, on September 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office/Handout via Reuters)
“It’s not only a long criminal arrest record, but several decades,” Duffy said. “You have an escalation of violent acts, and then, of course, other contacts with police such as driving without a license. Those are not violent acts, but they are frequent contacts with police. That suggests to me that over the last couple of decades, whatever was going on in his mind, he wanted to be in contact with law enforcement.”
Duffy’s assessment matches the experience of local police in Guilford County, North Carolina, where Routh previously lived. Retired Greensboro Police Department officer Eric Raeske told Fox News Digital that “it wouldn’t be unusual for (Routh) to be cited multiple times a week.”
“Routh’s attitude was that he was above everybody. He could do whatever he wanted,” Raeseke said. “It didn’t matter. He was so entitled. … He talked a lot about how he could get away with it and how he owned a successful business and nobody could do anything to him and (how) he knew everybody in Greensboro.”
In 2002, Routh barricaded himself inside his roofing business, United Roofing, with a semi-automatic rifle when he was stopped. The incident lasted about three hours, after which Routh surrendered and was captured without incident. Greensboro News and Record It was reported at that time.
In addition to the divorce and numerous civil judgments, contractors and individuals sued his roofing company. nbc newsRouth had several run-ins with police in 2003, including a street violation.
FBI investigation into Trump assassination attempt involves ‘full force’ of department, Wray says
General view of the gap in the vegetation by the fence between holes 5 and 6 at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. These holes are close to the location where a gun was found, believed to belong to Ryan Routh, in the suspected attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump. (MEGA for Fox News Digital)
Duffy suggested Routh’s sentencing should have been suspended because of mental health concerns, and that he could possibly have undergone an intensive treatment program in lieu of prosecution.
“That makes me think that something happened as a result of that incident (in which Routh turned himself in in 2002), whether it was a mental breakdown, or something going on in his mind,” Duffy said. “It will be interesting to see if he surrendered, did he actually have a weapon and why he came out a year later?”
“It’s telling me that there’s a Mental Health “Another element to this is that he is someone who has quite a history of contacts with police,” Duffy added. “For example, the situation with the gun at the barricade, driving without a license — was he intentionally trying to play a game of cat and mouse with law enforcement?”
Ryan Routh, a suspect in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, is seen being taken into custody on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in bodycam footage released Monday. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office)
Routh made a number of political posts on X. Before the assassination attempt on Sunday, he had called Trump an “idiot,” “stupid” and “moron,” and wrote that he had supported Trump in 2016 but now considers that decision “a terrible mistake.”
Rauth wrote that Iran “should feel free”. Assassination of Trump I was also blamed for the error in that decision.”
He also wrote that he was “willingly prepared to fight and die” to help. Ukrainian soldiers On the front line.
Routh is a pro-Ukraine activist who has spent time volunteering in the eastern European country to drum up more support for the country’s military efforts and has even enlisted the help of Afghan veterans who fled the Taliban to fight in the war, a New York Times report said.
Court sketch depicting Ryan Routh in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Routh is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with the serial number obliterated. Routh is suspected of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump. (Lothar Speer)
“It’s freedom of speech, to say things that either make sense or don’t. (But) you’ve seen a lot of nonsense (on social media) in these past mass shootings,” Duffy told Fox News Digital.
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“This is a man who is not unique,” Duffy added. “I would hope that…after some sort of sentence, he would sit down and have a conversation and be able to invite in some way Law enforcement Keep that in the back of your mind and say ‘Hey, this is what’s going on, this is what bothered me. There are other people like me.’ (Then) law enforcement and mental health (professionals) can learn from that and try to do something to bring a little more attention to something.”
Routh’s attorney could not be reached for comment.
